(Part one of a three-part series)
A resume is the foundation of your job search and your entre to an interview. Simply put, it’s the story of your career, and you want to make it so interesting that the person reading it wants to know more. Make your case – why are you the best possible candidate? Remember when your mother told you, ‘You never have a second chance to make a good first impression?’ Well, when you’re applying for a position, that’s what your resume is. So, let’s look at ways to get it right!
Today in 2022, there are myriad articles, blogs, and vlogs on how to write the “perfect” resume. Some are written by people with decades of expertise, others by newcomers to the coaching market. (I fit in the former category). Some sites will put one together for you using templates that are essentially fill-in-the-blanks. These may be good if you don’t have a recent resume or are early in your career, but every resume needs to be tailored to each position for which you apply.
There are two primary types of resumes and others that are basically hybrids of these two: chronological and functional. A chronological resume lists your work history, achievements, and education in reverse chronological order. A functional resume focuses on your competencies and how you have used them. This is particularly useful for job changers to highlight transferable skills that might not be as apparent in another format.
Fun fact before we get into the nuts and bolts: studies have shown that the average reviewer spends just 7.4 seconds perusing a resume. If we can’t readily find what we’re looking for, it ends up in the circular file. Keep that in mind while you’re crafting your resume. As you add a piece of information, make sure it makes you stand out and gives you the best bang for your buck.
Writing and designing a resume: Most authors agree there are some parts that are mandatory and others that are optional, but many don’t agree on which is which.
Resume sections: Recommended to include
Contact information. At a minimum, this should include the following:
Full name, phone number, and email.
LinkedIn address (if you have one).
If you currently don’t have a LinkedIn profile, do it immediately! Nowadays, social media presence is mandatory. It’s a powerful tool for people looking to learn more about you, for networking, and to find out more about organizations in which you’re interested. It’s an especially good place to find current and former employees – the latter of whom are great people to network with, as they’ve been inside an organization and likely have nothing to lose by telling you the truth if they have negative opinions about what it’s like to work there.
The full address has become optional. While it used to be necessary, some people are concerned that it exposes the author to privacy issues. Still, at least putting on one’s city and state is recommended, particularly if you’re looking at positions nationwide.
Work Experience. Include the organizational name and location and the dates you worked there. I recommend using different fonts for different parts. For example, bold for the company name, followed by city/state/country on the same line in plain font, and a sentence about the company on the next. Don’t expect the reader will know what your organization does. I then use bold and italics for the position title. If you had different roles there over time, list them under the same section.
Each position should have no more than 3 bullet points, although some agree that up to 5 is OK in one’s current position. Make them count. Use the formula action verbs + what I did + results (including numbers where applicable). A good place to pull those action verbs is from the posting itself or the organization’s website (see more in the section on ATS below). The result demonstrates that you’ve done your homework and answers the question of what your work was, what some people refer to as the “so what?” or “why do I care about that?” It’s great that you raised $100M in venture funding, but what was it for?
You do not have to – and shouldn’t – repeat accomplishments. From the bottom up, if you’ve listed that you’ve worked with the CFO of a medical center in a previous position, then save the space on your resume to show professional growth in later positions, or if you want to emphasize it as a later accomplishment and list a different achievement in an earlier entry. Particularly if you’re in the midst of a career transition, bullet points are a great place to highlight transferrable skills.
Finally, you don’t have to list every position you’ve had since finishing your education. Most people say 10-to-15 years is enough unless an earlier position demonstrates a key skill for the job you’re applying for that hasn’t been part of a more recent position.
Education and training: in my professional opinion, this should be the last or one of the last sections on your resume. Some say this should be near the top, and while that may be true for an applicant early in their career, nothing shouts to me, “I need to tell you how smart I am,” than someone who puts their education at the beginning. Part of what I do in the 6 to 8 seconds I use perusing a resume is a sweep to the bottom to look at that section. I advise you not to make a recruiter waste time looking for that information. I recommend including awards and accomplishments in this section when they’re related to your education.
Whether you include or leave the dates of your education off is a matter of choice. There are pros and cons either way.
In the next part of this three-part series, we’ll understand what you don’t need to include and the best way to optimize for success. Part Two: What Not to Include in Your Resume
Dr. Nancy Sobel is a senior search consultant, resume writer, online profile auditor, and career coach. Learn more about our career coaching, job application preparation, and interview readiness services, or write to Dr. Sobel at nancys@execsearches.com.
Last updated on February 27th, 2023 at 05:46 pm
Share this:
0 Comments